Arc of Fire

The crew of Tank 67 began to repair their vehicle, and Xie Liaosha, the tank commander, leapt down from the turret again and said to Wang Zhong, “My lord Count, while we’re repairing the tank, I’ll go check on Tank 422.

"I’ll survey the battlefield at the same time, especially the road conditions.

"If we’re not careful, our cumbersome buddy here might just break down halfway again.”

Wang Zhong, “Alright, I’ll take you for a spin.”

After speaking, he pointed toward the west and took the lead in stepping forward.

At that moment, Pavlov said, “Lieutenant, have you had your meal yet?”

Lieutenant Xie Liaosha, “No, we’ve been on the move all day. At first, we were ordered to move towards Ronied, but just after we set out, we received a radio message directing us to Bogdanovka. Later, the radio broke, and then we encountered defeated soldiers blocking the road. It was tough reaching Bogdanovka, and upon arrival, we were told that this place needed support.

"Had we not taken such an unnecessary detour, this old fellow wouldn’t have broken down so frequently.”

As he spoke, he gestured toward the tank.

"That’s fantastic,” said Xie Liaosha. “Let my crew eat first, I need to reconnoiter the battlefield.”

Wang Zhong, “This way.”

A few people started to move, and Wang Zhong, who had personally maneuvered a tank through the village, was already familiar with the terrain and began to explain it to the lieutenant as they went.

Eventually, the group arrived at Tank 422 which was parked at the edge of the village.

The bodies of the tank operators had been taken by the infantry to be buried at the church, leaving only the tank in the position it had occupied during the previous evening’s combat.

Upon seeing the tank, an emotion Wang Zhong had never experienced before surged within him.

He stepped forward and gently caressed the tank’s steel skin.

Before his time travel, he’d seen a comic depicting an American soldier shedding tears while giving his broken jeep a fond farewell, implying that the jeep had become a close comrade-in-arms the soldier couldn’t bear to see captured by the enemy.

At the time, Wang Zhong thought the comic was somewhat exaggerated, but now, he understood that humans indeed could develop affection for the weapons that accompanied them on the battlefield.

Touching the cold steel of Tank 422, and remembering his fallen comrades, he didn’t want to let the Prosen devils have this tank any longer.

Fortunately, the vehicle was still operational and the driver, though wounded, could continue to pilot it.

If they had a gunner, it could even go back into combat.

Lieutenant Xie Liaosha closely observed Wang Zhong’s expression, seemingly understanding something.

He didn’t disturb Wang Zhong’s “bonding” with the tank, but instead went to the front of the tank to inspect the area where it had been hit.

Noticing his actions, Wang Zhong explained, “It appears to have been hit in the front, fired by a Prosen Mark III tank’s 50mm gun.”

Xie Liaosha, “Yes, it hit the left auxiliary turret directly, killing the mechanic operating the turret on the spot. With a hit like that, normally, only the driver has a chance of survival, you were really lucky.”

Wang Zhong, “At the time, most of my body was out of the tank to get a better view.”

"That may have been what saved your life,” asserted Lieutenant Xie Liaosha. “I’ve driven a T28 myself, and frankly, it’s not a good tank. I’d rather drive a light tank; at least they have better maneuverability and lower failure rates.”

Wang Zhong, “Indeed, aside from its 45mm gun, it’s a useless hunk of metal.”

Xie Liaosha continued to examine the stone wall in front of the tank, “Strange, the bullet marks on the stone wall… the shell must have flown past, right?”

Wang Zhong pointed not far away, “I was hit over there, at the time…”

He recounted the evening’s engagement with four Mark III tanks.

Lieutenant Xie Liaosha praised, “Well fought!”

Under the starlight, one could dimly see the remnants of the wild Prosen tanks. Lieutenant Xie Liaosha gazed at the two tanks in the distance and said, “To win a long-range engagement against the enemy’s Mark III tanks is impressive. According to intelligence gathered from the Castilian Civil War, the enemy’s sighting equipment is very suitable for long-range firing, while we have to calculate manually based on the enemy tank’s size.”

Wang Zhong had also seen the Ante Army’s sighting equipment later, and wanted to try his hand at being a gunner, but found the sight consisted only of simple settings, requiring manual calculation of distance based on the actual size of the enemy tank measured against the scale on the sight.

On the destroyed Prosen tanks in the town, their sighting equipment included mechanical calculators; by simply adjusting the sight with the known length of the enemy tank, the distance could be immediately calculated.

Furthermore, by clever design, once the distance was calculated, the reticle in the sight was also set in place, allowing a direct shot by aligning the crosshairs.

On the Ante Army side, after calculating the distance, the reticle still had to be manually adjusted.

Therefore, Wang Zhong could understand why the gunner’s first shot flew wide during the engagement earlier in the day.

Had it not been for Wang Zhong’s “cheat” that directly provided the enemy’s distance, they truly might not have been able to outshoot the enemy at long range—no, they definitely would not have been able to.

No wonder Lieutenant Xie Liaosha was so impressed.

He said wistfully, “Your gunner is truly skilled; he must have undergone countless shooting drills.”

Wang Zhong intended to say it was he who informed them of the distance, but the words didn’t leave his mouth.

Let Lieutenant Xie Liaosha give a few more words of praise; perhaps it could even lead to a medal for the gunner. Though medals meant nothing to the deceased, it could bring some solace to his family.

Lieutenant Xie Liaosha, “Shall we continue? There are more enemy tanks destroyed in the village, right?”

Wang Zhong, “Yes, and to prevent the enemy tanks from using their firepower to block the roads, we built some barriers along the way. You’ll need to clear them to reach the village entrance. This way.”

————

Afterward, Wang Zhong spent half an hour with Lieutenant Xie Liaosha touring the village, making him completely familiar with the terrain.

After Lieutenant Xie Liaosha returned to his own crew, Wang Zhong decided to visit the church to see the situation for himself.

He was also a bit curious about what Mass was all about.

The arrival of the No. 67 heavy tank for support was most likely because the Mass had been effective, and the monks chanting hymns in the rear had heard the call for help.

When he arrived at the church entrance, the guard on duty was dozing off. Upon seeing Wang Zhong, he immediately snapped to attention and saluted crisply, “Your Grace!”

Wang Zhong, “I am a Count.”

"Count!”

Wang Zhong, “May I enter?”

"Yes, but please do not make any noise,” the guard said, gently pushing the door open.

Wang Zhong tiptoed into the church.

He saw Sufang kneeling in the very center of the altar, hands clasped together in a praying position, with Ludmila kneeling on the steps to the right of the altar also with hands joined together in prayer.

Monk Yeca Neiko was holding something like a bell and was walking in circles around them, swinging it as he went.

That bell-like object looked familiar to Wang Zhong—it seemed that many Western religions had such a magic artifact. The British tabletop game Warhammer 40K even incorporated it into its setting, where priests of the Mechanicum liked to wave it around while chanting incantations near all sorts of grand machinery.

Wang Zhong tiptoed to the side of the altar.

Monk Yeca Neiko opened his eyes, glanced at him, and made a shushing sound.

Wang Zhong felt it wasn’t good to just stand beside the altar, but he wasn’t religious and had never prayed in his life.

All he could do was imitate what Sufang or Ludmila did while they prayed, drawing an inverted triangle in front of his chest.

At that moment, Sufang suddenly opened her eyes and cheered, “We’ve got a response! Someone says reinforcements set out three hours ago!”

Wang Zhong, “The reinforcements have already arrived.”

Sufang startled, lost her balance, and fell forward onto the ground.

"Ouch, my front teeth!”

Just as Wang Zhong was about to help Sufang up, Ludmila opened her eyes.

"Alyosha? Are you alright? Do you still have a fever?” Ludmila asked, trying to stand up, but perhaps because she had been kneeling too long, her legs were numb and she stumbled, about to fall. Wang Zhong, with quick reflexes, caught her.

She ended up falling into Wang Zhong’s arms.

With no time to appreciate the girl’s “stormy seas,” Wang Zhong directly helped Ludmila to a chair and then turned to pull up Sufang, with tears brimming in her eyes, “What did they say over there?”

"They said that reinforcements have been dispatched for three hours and that we must hold out until eight o’clock tomorrow night. The defensive line at Bogdanovka isn’t fixed yet.”

The information about the defensive line not being fixed had already been brought by the No. 67 tank.

Wang Zhong nodded, “Well done. In fact, the reinforcements have already arrived.”

Sufang was overjoyed, “How many people?”

"One tank, but that’s enough,” Wang Zhong confidently said. After all, the enemy, apart from the 88mm anti-everything gun, simply couldn’t penetrate the armour of the KV1 tank.

That tank, placed in the open fields, was an impassable bulwark.

Sufang smiled, “That’s good to hear. I need to rest for a bit, get me water.”

Monk Yeca Neiko, obviously having officiated many Masses, promptly handed over a full water flask.

Ludmila was already drinking by the side.

Wang Zhong, “You two rest well, leave the rest to me—to us.”

————

Xie Liaosha returned to his crew.

Driver Ashka asked, “How is it, how much of what the Count boasted true?”

"I’m afraid none of it’s an exaggeration,” Xie Liaosha paused for a moment, then continued, “The tank wrecks in the wilderness aren’t very clear, but I made a round and didn’t see any anti-tank guns…”

Ashka, “So it must be the Divine Arrows’ doing! I asked around, and they have clergy here, definitely a Divine Arrow team. The noble young lords serving in the army always have Divine Arrow teams by their sides.”

Xie Liaosha spoke earnestly, “Don’t say it like that. The Count might be different from other nobles. I checked the tank wrecks in the village. Six were destroyed by tank guns.

"I replayed the situation and estimated that two were destroyed upon entering the village, then after close combat between infantry and tanks, the enemy had pressed into the village, gaining the upper hand.

"And then someone suddenly got around behind them and destroyed at least four tanks in a surprise attack.”

Xie Liaosha was gesturing as he spoke, “All four tanks were hit from the rear or the side, and their turrets weren’t pointing in the direction of the attack.

"Someone with skillful flanking eliminated them. I must admit, I couldn’t do it myself—destroy enemy tanks consecutively by circling around in a town, not even with infantry support.”

Ashka frowned, “All done by that Count?”

Xie Liaosha, “I don’t know. But listen, if I get injured or die, you follow the Count’s command. Then you’ll see for yourselves what he’s capable of.”

"Don’t talk so ominously,” the Gunner said as he picked up his plate, “Come on, have some beef, drink some wine. This is good stuff, supposedly taken from the local nobility’s cellar. It’s so strong it catches fire quickly; they use it for making Incendiary Bombs!”

Xie Liaosha took the bottle first and took a big swig, his face immediately lighting up with a smile, “Good wine! If I have to die at dawn, it’s not a bad deal to have good wine!”